


Seven Devils

by Spoon888



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Animated (2007)
Genre: Drunkenness, Dysfunctional Relationships, Hate Sex, Huddling For Warmth, Infidelity, M/M, Marriage of Convenience, Only There's Nothing Convenient About It, Unhappy marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2020-11-27 01:48:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20940272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spoon888/pseuds/Spoon888
Summary: How to ruin a relationship in seven sins or less.





	1. Luxuria

**Author's Note:**

> A TFA AU where after trying to get rid of Starscream multiple times to no avail, Megatron comes to the realisation that he is unstoppably immortal and strikes a 'deal' with him instead. 
> 
> Because marriage fixes everything.

Their's was a new relationship. Young. Fragile.

Starscream didn't seem to know that. To be fair, he didn't seem to realise this was a _relationship_ at all.

"I appear to have misunderstood the conditions of our ...arrangement," Megatron said carefully, measuring the irritation he allowed into his tone. Just enough to let Starscream know he was displeased, but not so much that the seeker realised this was something that could be used against him.

Megatron's feelings weren't so delicate that they could be shaken by something as simple as Starscream's... _Starscreamness_, after all.

Starscream was looking at him like he knew anyway, draped over the throne like he owned it. A clever little smile pulled at his smart mouth. "We never discussed conditions."

Ah, so this was to be treated like a contract.

"This is _not_ an open relationship," Megatron said with a note of finality. "You agreed to stop your mad dashes for power, and I agreed that you would be my mate, so that we would share power separately, but equally-"

"What has any of that got to do with me fragging Mixmaster?" Starscream asked flippantly.

Megatron's jaw clacked audibly shut.

It was jarring to hear out-loud, for Starscream to be so open about his infidelity. This may not be a romantic relationship in the same way most bondings were, but expecting a certain level of respect wasn't too much to ask, was it? Expecting Starscream not to undermine his reputation, his position as _leader_, by seeking pleasure elsewhere was hardly overstepping the boundaries of this haphazard arrangement.

"You are my mate," Megatron growled. "You will not prance about this base propositioning every mech that looks at you twice just to _spite_ me."

"Oh, you're not _really_ so arrogant that you think I live my life according to what is most likely to upset _you_?" Starscream arched his brow.

"I wouldn't put it past you," Megatron snarled.

"You never _asked_ for my fidelity," Starscream sneered, like Megatron was the problem here.

"I didn't think _I had to_," Megatron snapped. "If this is going to work there has to be boundaries. This 'relationship' is the only condition _you_ would agree to-"

"I _said_ I wanted to _lead_. And without _killing you_, that means being your equal. And that means being mated to you. That _doesn't_ mean I have to settle for _you_ every night," Starscream said boldly, rolling his optics.

Megatron felt inadequacy creep in amongst his frustration now. He lowered his voice for fear of being overheard. "...Do I not satisfy you?"

Starscream laughed, cackle echoing through the cave.

"No," he snorted, waving his servo. He sounded a little reluctant to admit it but went on to reassure Megatron that, "No, you're... _fine_, I suppose."

"Suppose?" Megatron breathed harshly.

"I don't know why you're taking this so personally," Starscream began studying his claws because Megatron clearly wasn't important enough for his full attention. "It's only interfacing. And it's not like I'm depriving you of attention."

No, depriving Megatron was far from what Starscream was doing. He'd heard rumours of seeker stamina. He had cast them off as ridiculous at the time and hadn't given them a second thought when entering into this 'contract' with Starscream. A mistake on his part.

But not getting intimate attention from Starscream wasn't the problem here. It was that everyone _else_ was getting that same attention.

"This isn't-!" Megatron began furiously. He pinched the bridge of his nose, before deciding on a tactful, "Your attentions shouldn't given so freely."

Starscream tutted, "You're such an old prude."

Megatron blinked down at the seeker, hardly believing his audials.

"Not wanting to listen to my underlings _brag_ about who did what to my supposed mate does not make me a 'prude'. It makes _you_ a-"

He stopped himself just in time, but Starscream was scowling because he _knew_ what he'd been about to say anyway.

"Finish the sentence," Starscream said dangerously.

Megatron stemmed his regret. "Do I look like a fool?"

Starscream tilted his helm thoughtfully, considering. "You sound like one."

He swept off before Megatron could defend himself, tossing him a limped wrist'd wave over his shoulder. Off to entertain the troops, no doubt.

Megatron exhaled heavily once he was out of sight. At the very best, this was just a vindictive phase. Starscream pushing at buttons because now he knew he could get away with it.

At worst...

It was just the beginning.


	2. Gula

Megatron was aware he wasn't exactly viewed as a promotor of a 'good time' by the majority of his Decepticons. So he assumed It was for that reason that they chose to take their celebrations away from the safety of the rural base, and the danger of his ire.

Though he would have appreciated them at least attempting to end these scandalous parties at a reasonable hour.

It was late. Megatron was forced to concede that yes, Earth's days were shorter than Cybertron's, but it held little sway over his temper when Starscream came stumbling in through the door to their now shared quarters at five hundred hours, stinking noxiously of organic oil and ...sea water.

Megatron, who had been up all night waiting for him to return specifically so he could shout at him (and the rabble that had followed him out) for the unauthorised leave, ascended simple anger and was now in a state of resigned disbelief.

Starscream's didn't quite have the gumption to look Megatron in the optic. A sign of regret perhaps? Megatron had been beginning to wonder if whatever trickle of honour Starscream might have once possessed had left his frame along with his spark. Megatron stared down at the swaying, stumbling, wreck of a seeker in his doorway despairingly.

"I'm tired," Starscream drawled, over-enunciating where he was trying so hard not to sound as drunk as he was. "I would rather we didn't do this now. 's late."

"It's _morning_," Megatron pointed out, stiffly. The sky was turning orange with the arrival of the sun.

Starscream's big optics blinked, surprised. "Oh. It is."

"An entire month's worth of fuel is missing," Megatron told him. "It had been secured in the vault, where only you, I, and Lugnut would have been able to get to it. Where it is, Starscream?"

Starscream could be a brilliant liar, even when fighting against the blatant obvious. But that skill was lacking somewhat after half a warehouse of overindulgence.

Starscream snorted an immature laugh. "That Lugnut," he sneered, waving a limp hand. "Can't trust anybot these days. Huh?"

Megatron's hands curled into fists.

The day they had reluctantly shaken servos and agreed to put aside their personal war and move forward as bonded mates, Megatron had sworn he would never again use violence against Starscream. Not simply because it didn't work, but because the endless repetition of it was going to make him _insane_.

The with the selfish brat stood in front of him and smirking, and lying, the temptation to go back on his word and succumb to insanity was mounting.

Oblivious to the growing danger he was in, Starscream stumbled past Megatron into their berthroom. He tripped haphazardly over some of the mess he was responsible for with a curse, before thumping into the metal slab and tugging some of the insulation covers over himself.

Megatron watched from the doorway.

The lump of covers shifted as Starscream rolled back into view, "Are you coming? I have charge to burn off..."

He smirked at him, and sprawled into a position that was obviously intended to be seductive.

Inebriation on this level was quite possibly the least arousing thing Megatron could conceive of. He'd sooner lie with an organic. Or a tiny Autobot.

"You're overcharged," he growled.

"So...?" Starscream purred sleepily, "I don't mind, if you don't...?"

Megatron did mind. Very much so. He stalked towards the berth and Starscream sat up, expecting his attempt at seduction to have worked. But Megatron simply ripped the insulation sheet away and stole one of the pillows.

"Where- where are you _going?!_" Starscream demanded, finally realising this wasn't a game.

"To be alone!" Megatron barked back.

He wished automatic doors could slam as he marched out of the bedroom and into the cold cave hallways. There was no protest, no call of his name, no stumbled apology, no seeker chasing after him, begging for forgiveness. Starscream was likely already recharging, drunk and snoring and drooling on a pillow.

Megatron dragged himself and his berth sheet through the corridor, looking for a place dry and warm enough to settle till the early morning sun roused the rest of his faction. If they weren't too overcharged to wake, that was.


	3. Avaritia

The cave was cold on a night -central heating and even the most basic of insulation coming secondary to the more vital duties of retrieving All Spark fragments, destroying the Autobots, and taking over the planet. Megatron regretted his decision now, in the dead of winter, with nothing but a cold berth slab and a shabby insulation sheet to protect his internals from the damp chill in the air. Antifreeze disagreed with him and he burned twice the fuel on a night just trying to keep himself warm.

One small upside to the dropping temperatures was he now had a berth mate to conserve heat with.

However he struggled with the cold, it was double the trial for a seeker. Long wings, held apart from their frames, were at permanent risk of gathering ice. The glass of their cockpits weren't at all insulated like armour plating was, and the turbines set on their chassis were forever letting in cold air. There was no such thing as a Decepticon stiff upper lip when it came to cold seekers. They didn't cope well. Megatron had once even seen Starscream _walk around_ with his thrusters set to a low burn just to keep his pedes from icing over.

Megatron entered the berth room he and Starscream were sharing, sighing at the welcome but minute increase in heat. Four heaters sat about the room, sucking up energy but fighting back the frost that had started to gather in the corners of the room like it did most of the rest of the cave.

On the metal berth slab lay a vague Starscream-shape, wrapped in a shivering cocoon, their one insulation sheet wrapped tightly around his pathetic frame.

"Starscream," he greeted, his tone almost as cold as the rest of the cave.

The shivering didn't subside but the sheets slipped down to reveal Starscream's dark, scowling face. "Where have you b-been?" His high, nasally vocaliser stuttered as his frame convulsed. "I _needed_ you!"

Megatron arched a brow in interest. Starscream didn't often care where he was or what he was doing, and often relished his absences, showing disappoint only when dared to return. Perhaps something had changed.

He hardly dared to let his spark fill with hope. "You did?"

"Yes," Starscream hissed. "Do you have any idea how c-cold it is!" He wriggled angrily. "Get over here and warm me up!"

It wasn't exactly the sultry invitation of a seeker wanting attention from their mate, but Megatron would take what he could get. He ambled closer, sliding onto the berth top, repressing a shiver at how cold the metal was. He laid back and reached for the insulation sheet to ward off the chill.

Starscream hissed and yanked it away. "It's mine."

"It's _mine_," Megatron corrected with a fierce snarl, "You said you wanted me to warm you."

"I don't want you smearing dirt and grease all over me," Starscream snarked nastily. "Hold me over the top of the sheet."

Megatron frowned at his selfishness and tugged on a corner regardless. "You would be warmer if I-"

Starscream rolled away from him childishly, taking the covers with him, "I'm not sharing."

"You expect me to freeze?!"

"I expect you to be _quiet_ about it," Starscream sneered. "Besides, the big bad Megatron isn't susceptible to a little chill, is he?"

It was cold, it was late, and Megatron had reached the limit of what he was willing to put up with. He seized one big handful of the sheet and yanked it. Starscream _screeched_, and scrambled to reclaim it, his claws catching the fabric and ripping it. Megatron snarled and placed one big hand on Starscream's chest to shove him back and off, using admittedly more force than he had intended.

With a squeal, Starscream toppled off the end of the berth with a wince-worthy clatter of armour.

The sheet now freed from his selfish grasp, Megatron tossed it around his shoulders and laid down with a self satisfied huff.

Until five seconds later, when a dark shadow fell across him.

Flashbacks to all the times Starscream had appeared above him in the dead of night with a knife poised above his spark, Megatron snapped his optics online and sat up, grabbing a wrist.

His unarmed-mate cried out. "Hey!" Starscream slapped him off, "I only wanted to share!"

Megatron wasn't feeling quite so charitable now, "Oh _now_ you want to share?"

Starscream sat back on his heels, arms folded around himself, wing tips shivering. "Maybe I'll just leave and find someone who is willing to accomodate me then?" He threatened.

With a growl of irritation, Megatron looked away and lifted the sheet, granting the seeker access. Starscream clambered in, pressing his cooler frame close and gathering fabric around him. Wing tips thoroughly chilled from even the brief exposure to cold brushed Megatron's shoulder and made him flinch.

"Blasted seeker," he muttered, rearranging himself around Starscream so they could share the sheet more effectively as they reclined back on the berth slab. He laid on his back, and Starscream laid on his chest, his check resting below Megatron's collar. Megatron peered down at the top of his head, and as he watched wings twitch under the sheet as they relaxed and settled, felt a sense of calm wash over him.

Starscream, as troublesome and spiteful and loud as he could be, did have his upsides, he thought, stroking a hand up and down a smooth glossy wing appreciatively.

Sadly, that line of thinking didn't last long when he woke barely an hour later, missing the sheet _and_ Starscream, his processor flagging up with low temperature warnings for most of his extremities. He reached out with numb fingers for the edge of the sheet Starscream seemed to have rolled away from him with, but the seeker's grip on them tightened possessively, his claws shining out in the darkness warningly, ready to defend what was his

Megatron cleaved close to Starscream's fabric swaddled frame and wrapped his arms around himself, glaring at the ceiling.

Typical.


	4. Acedia

Starscream spent the vast majority of his short Earth day cycles horizontal.

And that wasn't a cheap shot at the seeker's fulfilling, frequent, and varying sex life -both the one he deigned to share with Megatron _his mate_, and the one Megatron suspected he still shared with ...others, who were most certainly _not_ his mates. (One battle at a time, he told himself wearily).

No, Starscream had become uncommonly lazy over the course of the past few weeks, most cycles not even bothering to leave their uncomfortable, hard metal berth-slab. Megatron might have understood better had they been at home aboard the _Nemesis_, where the berths -especially in his own command quarters- had been considerably more comfortable and worth wasting the day away in, but the only thing such inactivity could be giving Starscream now was an aching back-strut.

It was mid afternoon when Megatron ventured back through the rough hewn doorway into the section of the cave he shared with the seeker to find Starscream in the exact place he had left him early that morning, strewn across their berth on his back, helm pillowed by an arm as he studied the claws of his left servo.

"Starscream," Megatron said, starting off gently. He could always escalate this to a shouting match later if a civil conversation wasn't achievable now.   
  
"Do these look blunt to you?" Starscream asked, extending the claws of his servo.

Megatron took the extended hand and rubbed his thumb across the backs of Starscream's digits. The claws looked as sharp and deadly as ever, though -he noticed with the twinge of irritation- the tips were scuffed with paint transfers from _his_ armour. He glanced back at his wide shoulders and realised he'd been walking around with dark claw-marks marring his paint all cycle.

"They're sharp enough," he dropped the servo in annoyance, wondering if he had to invest in some sort of claws-caps or mittens to slap on the seeker when he risked being intimate with him. It was that or handcuff Starscream's arms behind his back, and that wouldn't go down well.

Or maybe it wouldn't matter, Megatron realised, frowning at Starscream's lazy, prone form on his berth. Starscream hadn't been motivated enough to so much as call him an idiot, let alone have one of his patented screaming matches with him.

"What is wrong with you?" He demanded.

Starscream finally looked past his claws and saw him. "What's wrong with _me_?" He arched an optical ridge, tone taking on some emotion, finally.

"You're not yourself," Megatron clarified.

Starscream looked back at his claws, "I'm surprised you're not throwing a victory party. You don't like me being me."

"I-" Megatron stopped himself before saying something that would only make him more vulnerable to Starscream's manipulations. He restarted. "I do not like _this_ either."

"That's not what you said this morning," Starscream sighed.

Megatron felt his mood darken, because 'that morning' hadn't been anything particularly exceptional either.

'Facing Starscream had become something of a mechanical chore, a habit. They gravitated towards one another in the mornings, their systems rebooting and sluggish. Starscream opened himself up to him and Megatron so easily slipped into his arms it was barely worth thinking about. He'd finish with a moan and Starscream with the pinch of his claws in Megatron's back armour, and just as wordlessly, they would separate with a twitch and a roll.

Megatron longed for the days when they would bicker and fight and make a battle of it, when their rage at the world and each other simmered into something sensual and heated, their frame's twined together, insults gasped into one another's audials between kisses.

Perhaps the 'necessity' of their official union had taken some of the passion out of their relationship.

Or more likely, Starscream had lost his edge now that he no longer had the cause or opportunity to plot against him.

Megatron sat on the edge of the metal berth-slab. Starscream shifted aside with an eye roll. "Don't you have Autobots to plot against?"

"Don't you?" Megatron growled.

"What do I care," Starscream huffed, turning his body and lying on his side, facing Megatron. He laid a hand on his narrow hip and bent a leg. "I have different priorities."

Megatron frowned, looking between Starscream's hips and his face. "Are you trying to distract me with interfacing?"

"Don't I always?"

That was worrying, Megatron thought. How many conversations had been derailed in the past by Starscream's seductive manipulations without him even noticing?

A lot, he was willing to guess, as he pushed Starscream back and laid himself over him. Starscream stretched himself out, arms above his head, thighs falling open so Megatron could fall between them.

He needed to give Starscream something to do, he realised, ducking his head and pushing his mouth against the taunt cables of a long elegant neck, something other than 'facing that was.

Starscream watched him through hooded, apathetic optics, content to lay back and let him do all the work, offering a light sigh or an interested twitch every so often, just to keep up the farce.

How infuriating it was to think how much more fun this had all been when they'd been trying to kill one another.


	5. Ira

From what Megatron could tell, Starscream had never feared his temper. Not genuinely.

He wasn't entirely sure Starscream was even capable of feeling genuine fear. Of course the seeker cowered and simpered and flattered when he sensed an incoming punishment, but what could be done to him that hadn't already happened? He had died countless times, seen the very worst of the war, the worst of Cybertron, the worst of his own people, and the worst of Megatron -so what else was there left for an indestructible creature such as him to worry about?

Megatron wasn't as lucky to live a life with such little consequence.

There was plenty _he_ feared. The future, and what that meant for him, for Cybertron, for his mechs, and the unknown that came with it. And Starscream.

Because a small part of Megatron, hidden behind pride and arrogance and thick armour, feared what Starscream could do, would do, if he felt it was necessary. He was too unpredictable, too unknown, even on his best days.

And today? Today he was angry, and wanted everyone to know it.

Starscream didn't often experience a regular mood. It was something Megatron had grown accustomed to over the millennias they had fought together. Starscream swung from extremes; hyperactive productivity, to lethargic and grumpy resentment in a flash. Some cycles he would sprawl over Megatron like a heavy blanket, playful and flirtatious and dangerously affectionate. And some cycles he hissed and spat and his armour prickled if Megatron so much as looked at him.

Today was a bad day, and Megatron could tell from across the dark cave. The stiff angle Starscream's long wings were held at, the tension across his wide shoulders, how his clawed servos were balled into tight fists at his sides.

Megatron assessed the situation, decided quickly that it wasn't worth it, and turned to leave the cavern again.

"Where are you going?" A demanding voice echoed back against the rock that made up the cavern walls.

Megatron paused in the entryway and cringed. Starscream's voice was several octaves too high, and held far too much emphasis. Megatron's self-preservation protocols clicked on out of over three million years worth of instinct, but as fast as they were to activate, they could do little to aid Megatron in pacifying grumpy bond-mates.

"Out," Megatron said, and immediately cursed himself, because Starscream, in this paranoid, aggressive state, was bound to think he was being deliberately vague.

He heard the _clack-clack-clack_ of thruster heels on damp stone and turned around to face the approaching seeker.

"Where?" Starscream demanded, and in the shadows, optics glowing and wings aloft, he looked like a winged demon.

"Nowhere," Megatron repressed another wince at his second tactless answer in under ten seconds. "I meant- I misspoke," he tried to correct.

"Well? Are you staying or going? Or have you forgotten?" Starscream planted hands on his hips and sneered. "Is your memory really failing you so dramatically? Your frame is falling to pieces, but I really though your _processor_ had a few more centuries left before that too rotted."

Megatron felt an optic twitch. His desire to deescalate the situation evaporated. "What do you want?"

"What do _I_ want?!" Starscream leant back on his heels, "You're the one who came stomping in here to interupt me."

"Interrupt _what_?!" Megatron looked around to see if Starscream had actually being doing something or just more of the usual- loitering around, being the lazy brat he'd always been, waiting for an excuse to start an argument.

"I was _thinking_," Starscream snarled. "Something you should try some time."

Megatron clenched his jaw, his own hands curling in fists, "I swear on the All Spark, Starscream, if you don't start acting like a civilised mech in the next five seconds-"

"You're _threatening_ me?!" Starscream's optics flared, furious, "Your own bond mate!?"

Megatron stepped closer, so he really _was_ threatening Starscream. He loomed over him, but Starscream only tilted his head back, meeting him head on. Fearless. 

"There are a great many things I will tolerate from you, because I made you a vow the cycle we agreed to this arrangement," Megatron leant down, so his nose was a hairsbreadth from Starscream's. "And that is the _only_ reason I tolerate it. That is the only reason I haven't thrown your insolent aft into the river."

Starscream's optics were narrow slights, "Why not go ahead and do it anyway?" He hissed sharply, "We both know it won't take, and that I'll be back on my feet before nightfall. That's what you want, isn't it? A few hours peace and quiet, but a warm frame to keep you company on lonely nights."

"You're hardly what I would describe as a 'warm frame'," Megatron sneered, optics flicking to Starscream's cold, empty chest.

Starscream knew _exactly_ what he'd meant by that. 

Their was a pause, then his gaze hardened, his lip twitched. "I hate you," he whispered.

"I hate _you_," Megatron said with more emotion. The easy, cold tone Starscream had used had had gotten beneath his armour, and left a cold sharp feeling in his spark. "You mean _nothing_ to me."

Starscream stared him down for a few seconds, and Megatron could have sworn he saw coolant brewing in the channels beneath the seeker's narrow optics, but Starscream span away with a snotty, wet sounding "Fine!" before Megatron could look any closer. He kicked a nearby crate full of spare parts into the cave wall on his way. The wood splintered and it's contents clattered to the floor, but Starscream kept walking, shoulders hunched and fists at his sides.

Megatron didn't stop him, instead frowning at the mess Starscream had made during his little tantrum, debating on whether the petty urge to order him back to clean it up would be worth it, or if that would be the final straw and the next thing Starscream decided to break was _him_.

He half expected a knife in the back when he crawled into the berth with Starscream some hours later that night. The seeker was laid on his side, facing away from him, curled into a ball, his wings tucked close. He was shut off, emotionally _and_ physically.

Megatron stared at his winged back, hand hovering above a stiff wing, unsure what to do.

In the end, he too laid down and rolled away to face the opposite direction.

Let the awful seeker stew in his own anger and hate. He had better things to worry about.


	6. Invidia

Since Starscream was no longer deigning to talk to him, Megatron had no choice but to seek out better company elsewhere. 

The problem with this tactic was that there wasn't much better company available, and the Decepticons on Earth with him were intellectually slim pickings. Lugnut was sickeningly sycophantic, Blitzwing an unpredictable lunatic, and some of his more recent recruits -Mixmaster and Scrapper, for example- could barely string a sentence together. 

It was ironic really, that to escape Starscream's company Megatron was resorting to the companionship of one of his near-exact clones. 

Slipstream was by far the most competent, intelligent, and Starscream-like of all the clones, and as an added bonus, her personality _didn't_ revolve around screeching, arrogance, cowardice, or blind treachery. She reminded Megatron of the Starscream he had once known, early in the war, before defeat and banishment at Autobot hands and the millennia worth of resentment that had lead to multiple assassination attempts and, bizarrely, now a bonded relationship. __

_ _"There is nothing wrong with him," Slipstream explained flippantly after he'd poured his spark out to the aloft seeker. She threw him a pitying look from atop the shipping container she was sat on. "It's who he is." _ _

_ _"He wasn't always this way," Megatron stroked his chin. "You don't know him like I do." _ _

_ _"I'm cloned from him," Slipstream reminded him, elegant brow arched. "I know him in more ways than you can possibly comprehend." _ _

_ _Megatron huffed. Perhaps she was a little arrogant after all. "This bond is a sham." _ _

_ _He heard her drop down from shipping container to stand on the dock. He turned around to see her stood with her hands on her cocked hips. "Wasn't it meant to be?" _ _

_ _"I had ...hoped it would turn into something more," he admitted, it would have been, in Blitzwing's words, a 'fake it till you make it' type scenario. "Starscream has no interest in treating this as anything but a necessary chore." _ _

_ _"And you do?" Slipstream didn't sound impressed. _ _

_ _"I have _tried_," he snarled. ___ _

_ _ _ _"Have you tried _talking_ to him?" She asked, sounding amused with his troubles now. Blasted seekers were all the same. ___ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"There _is_ no talking to him. Which is why I came to you for insight," he scoffed in disgust and turned to leave. "But I see you're no better-"___ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"He doesn't pick up well on subtly," Slipstream called after him. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Megatron paused, glancing over a shoulder, "What?!" _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"You're more subtle than him," Slipstream folded her arms, sighing. "More reserved. He doesn't know he's in trouble until he's being literally throttled, so he's not going to be able to figure out that someone likes him unless they're down on their knees, kissing his feet. If you want my advice? Swallow your pride and tell him you care about him." _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Megatron gaze darkened, "I don't." _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"Then why did you bond with him?" _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"Because it was necessary! The only thing that would stop this madness." _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"Then don't expect him to play happy marriages with you if you can't do the same," She tilted her head then, looking past him. Her lip curled. "And it's probably not a good idea to add fuel to the fire by slipping out in the middle of the night to have secret meetings with seekers who aren't your bonded." _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Megtaron's blinked, "Wha-?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Without warning, Slipstream ignited her thrusters and blasted into the sky with an echoing laugh, just as the thrum of a second approaching jet engine reached Megatron's audials. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Starscream. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Slipstream was already disappearing into the city, which left only one victim to Starscream's rage. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"Her?!"_ Megatron heard Starscream rage in the sky above him. __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Megatron shielded his optics and looked up as Starscream transformed into bipedal mode and hovered above him, optics alight and claws extended. "You have some nerve complaining about my infidelity when you're no better!" _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Comparing the fact that Starscream was still running about, letting anything with a spark pulse bed him, to Megatron desperately seeking out the council of an insightful alley was the _last straw. ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Megatron bared his teeth, fuel pump pulsing with fury. "I was speaking with her about important matters, you fool." _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Starscream deactivated his thrusters and landed with a thump on the shipping container Slipstream had been sat on, denting it badly. His silhouette blocked out the full moon behind him as he loomed over Megatron. "That's what I'm for. _I'm_ your second in command!" ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"It was a personal matter." _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _A condemning finger was jabbed at him. "So you are having an affair!" _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"Why would I go out of my way to seek out the company of an vicious, apathetic seeker when I already have you?!" _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"Why wouldn't you tell me where you were going?!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"Because you would act like _this_, you infuriating, jealous maniac!" Megatron roared. ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"I'm not jealous!" Starscream hissed quickly, suddenly looking panicked, "There's nothing to be jealous of. She can have you. The more you're with her the less time I have to put up with you. The less I'll have to put _out_ for you."___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"Put 'out' for me?" Megatron repeated coldly, optic twitching. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"Stay out all night chasing wings for all I care," Starscream straightened, "but don't expect to come crawling back into my berth when you're done." _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _He ignited his thrusters and shot into the sky with a boom of his jet engines. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"It's _my_ berth!" Megatron bellowed after him, but doubted it was heard over the roar of thrusters. ___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _He watched the bright speck that was Starscream disappear into the night sky, and tried to ignore the dull ache in his spark. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _'Swallow your pride and tell him you care about him', he remembered Slipstream's advice. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _That sounded like a surefire way to give Starscream a dangerous upper hand._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	7. Superbia

Stupid Megatron, Starscream thought venomously, kicking the mech's ridiculous throne as he passed. Stupid Megatron, and this stupid, terrible idea of living in '_harmony together as bonded equals'_ and pretending everything was fine and peaceful and they could live like this forever, never needing anything more!

He paced before the throne, ignoring the dent in his toe-pede from where he had kicked it.

He remembered the idea when it had first been proposed; Megatron looming over him, a hand around his throat, sword at the ready to end his life for the fifth time that week. And then ...Megatron's hesitation.

Starscream remembered his fuel pump skipping a beat, and then another when Megatron had released him.

He should have known better, should have known not to trust Megatron and his honeyed reassurances. His false promises. His own stupid emotions trying to run away with the idea and turn this -this _arrangement_ into something more than a hasty political match.

Megatron didn't care about him. This wasn't a real bonding. They were rivals who had agreed to a unconventional sort of truce, that was all.

Starscream repressed a scream of frustration and stomped up the dais to take a seat on the throne. It was too big for him, designed for Megatron's bulkier hips, so he sprawled out in it selfishly and tried not to feel small.

Before long, Megatron returned.

He was particularly surprised the apathetic idiot hadn't flown off and spent the rest of his evening with better company. Starscream certainly hadn't given him any indication of wanting to put up with him or his wandering hands all night. And if the old mech dared to touch him? He would rip his ugly, blunt fingers off.

Starscream tried as best he could to convey that thought with expression alone, glaring at Megatron's silhouette in the doorway of the cavern.

"Starscream," his smooth voice called out to him. "You're in my throne."

Starscream said nothing, and slumped stubbornly.

Stamping footsteps carried Megatron closer. Starscream tightened his arms around himself, braced for when Megatron inevitably grabbed him by a wing and hauled him bodily out of his seat. The larger mech's shadow loomed, but no fist seized him. Starscream dropped his long chin to his chest so he wouldn't have to meet his gaze.

"Starscream," Megatron still sounded annoyed from their earlier argument. "Look at me."

"I think I've wasted enough time looking at your ugly visage. It's taking it's toll on my optics."

A big hand caught his chin and Starscream flinched, but Megatron's grip was unbreakable. His head was tilted up and back, so he _had_ to look at the larger mech. Megatron's steely red optics bore through him. He felt small and foolish under his gaze.

"What!" He snapped, just for something to say. "I'm looking at you, aren't I?!"

The hand on his chin moved around and held his helm instead. A thumb brushed over his cheek. Starscream bit his tongue to keep from saying anything.

"This can't go on," Megatron said.

"Fine," Starscream hissed, "Kick me out then. Go back to the way things were before."

"Is that what you want?"

Starscream seethed. "...You _know_ what I want."

"I don't know a thing about your motives anymore," Megatron hissed. "The bond can be undone. You have no spark, so we're not spark-bound-"

"Is that why this isn't real?" Starscream spat.

Megatron paused, "Real?"

Starscream turned his face away, slapping Megatron's hand from his cheek. If Megatron couldn't figure out what he wanted, then he could suffer in his ignorance. _He_ wasn't swallowing his pride and admitting anything.

Megatron stared silently. Starscream glared at the floor.

With a weary, put out noise, Megatron dropped to a knee with a painful sounding creak of metal, and met his gaze that way. Starscream scoffed and looked aside instead. To further inconvenience his attempts at ignoring the other mech, Megatron leant in. Starscream shuttered his optics and tried to block him out, gritting his denta against welling emotions when he felt a forehead knock the side of his helm.

"Stop it!" He whipped his head around and snarled, almost head butting Megatron. "Stop trying to seduce me."

"I'm not trying to seduce you," Megatron growled, sounding annoyed. "And if I was seducing you, there'd be no '_try_' about it."

"Oh please," Starscream snorted.

"Seeing as 'facing hasn't worked in solving any of our differences thus far, I'm trying to _talk_ to you." Megatron said stiffly.

Starscream blinked, suddenly feeling awkward. "_Talk_?! There's nothing to say-"

"You're unhappy."

"Obviously."

"I'm unhappy that you're unhappy."

Starscream stood up abruptly, "Like you give a _slag_-"

Megatron caught his hips and shoved him down again. He fell into the throne haphazardly. "Hey-!"

"So here's an ultimatum-"

"Because ultimatums work _so well_ in relationships-"

Megatron ignored him, "Either you swallow your blasted pride and tell me what you want from me, or we give up, and go back to how things were."

Starscream pressed his lips together, his chest tight and his emotions guarded. Tell Megatron what he wanted?! That sounded like the worst idea imaginable.

"...You first."

"No," Megatron's gaze darkened. "I need you to give me something back. Anything."

Starscream swallowed, "Well I ...I..."

He met Megatron's optics and they began to soften. Starscream felt his steely resolve dwindle, his tense armour relaxing. His guard slipped. "Does this mean anything to you?"

Megatron blinked, "To me?"

"Do _I_ mean anything to you?" Starscream searched Megatron's surprised optics. "Or has this all been a convenient way to control me? To have me? Have your oil cake and eat it?"

Megatron was the one looking caught now. Starscream watched him imploringly, waiting. It was painful watching him relearn how to use his tongue.

Megatron cleared his vocaliser, "I suppose ...I have grown rather ..._fond_ of you."

Starscream arched a brow. "Fond?"

"Well what do you want me to say?" Megatron snapped defensively. "I care about you. Obviously, I care about you. I've housed you here, and fuelled you, and kept you warm, and safe-"

"And fragged me," Starscream muttered.

"Unlike _some_ people in this room, I am only intimate with individuals I..." He swallowed, "individuals I care for."

Starscream felt a lump grow in his throat at Megatron's obvious embarrassment, but it helped to soothe the heat in his own neck, knowing this conversation was just as cringingly awful for him as well.

"I would bond with you legitimately if I could," he admitted, seeing no reason to hold things back now.

Megatron lifted a large hand and placed it over his chest. Starscream wished he could pulse his spark so he could feel it. "We'll make do," he promised, leaning in.

Starscream scooted forwards on the throne and slipped his servos over Megatron's shoulders to loop around his neck. He supposed he should apologise, for taking his unresolved feelings out on Megatron and expecting the poor oblivious old mech to be able to read his processor.

But he had too much pride for that.

Megatron leant in and kissed him, a smooth slide of lips against lips, and Starscream sighed into it happily.

Maybe this sham marriage didn't have to be such a sham after all.


End file.
